Proud Soul
by Hopeful Writer
Summary: This is basically a story about what would happen if Takeru and Hikari were fighting during their marriage. This is from their child's point of view when he wonders about divorce.


HW: LiLVarajon, pick some people and write me a fic. We need to get this out before our request comes in.

LiLVarajon: You got it, boss. Sakka and Raissa, I have an idea.

Sakka: Sure, I'm game.

Raissa: Works for me.

HW: Sakka, disclaimer. Raissa, shout outs. LiLVarajon, summary. And I'll introduce it.

Sakka: HW doesn't own Digimon. She begs that the persistent emails for joint custody are stopped immediately, or she will sic her pack of kindergartners on the sender.

Raissa: Shout outs to Dreamer4, Dark Gamer, EeyoreP, Izzychick, Fallen angel of Hope, and Sir Brass of the Pen. Many thanks for all your support and keep writing.

LiLVarajon: This story occurs after the digidestined have grown up, but it doesn't include the epilogue in episode 50. Takeru and Hikari are having some marriage problems, but how will their children handle a divorce? Obviously contains Takari, but no other romances. The characters of Koori and Kaji Takaishi are HW's, with some help from Dark Gamer.

HW: Thanks, bro! I know I keep using Koori, but he's a cool little character.

DG: No problem.

HW: Here's Proud Soul by LiLVarajon, Sakka, and Raissa.

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Proud Soul

By: Hopeful Writer

Dictated by: LiLVarajon, Sakka, and Raissa

The silence was deafening, so deafening Takeru had to hold his ears to keep from crying out in pain. He was shivering from head to toe, trying not to lose the one thing that meant more to him than life himself: his wife, Hikari. But she was furious with him for his "lack of responsibility."

As the silence gave way to more screaming, Takeru began to fear the worst. He'd seen divorce happen right under his tiny nose, but he had always thought he'd live happily ever after with Hikari. They'd been in love for so long. It seemed like only yesterday that they cradled each other for hours, whispering sweet nothings in the twilight of the night. But those days had passed. Now the young couple's lives were being torn apart by the division between work and each other. But which would prevail?

Unbeknownst to the quarreling pair, a small figure was watching them unhappily from the kitchen doorway. He remained out of their line of sight, yet he kept the fight in his vision. A small two-way walkie-talkie was in his hand, and his younger brother was sitting in his bedroom listening to the fight, crying silently at his parent's harsh words.

The older boy was Koori Takaishi, and the younger was Kaji. Koori was all of his parents' best qualities. He was cunning, smart, and very devious. He was a child genius, one that could hack into any computer system and spend time in there without batting an eye. He could perform the most perfect pranks and never have to worry about getting caught. He was also a model student who could never get into trouble.

Kaji was very different. Though he was very smart, his intelligence could not be compared with that of his brother. He was, truthfully, a good boy, afraid to pull pranks. He always managed to find himself in trouble in school, though, whether it was fighting with the school bully, or simply letting his harsh temper get the best of him. He had a wicked temper.

Koori listened to the stream of accusation leave his mother's mouth, followed by the counterattacks of his father. He had already planned each parent's arguments, as well as counterarguments, but it still hurt to hear them aloud. Koori had tried to be strong for his little brother, but the pain was eating away at him. But if he inherited one bad trait from his mother, it was his inability to tell when something was bothering him.

Suddenly the conversation did a 180. He heard his parents start talking about him and Kaji. '$#!%,' he thought weakly, gripping the walkie-talking tighter in his hand. "Kaji," he whispered, careful not to be heard. "I'm going to shut this off and come back in a few minutes. Over and out."

"Okay," replied the tiny voice of Kaji Takaishi. "Over and out."

Koori clicked off his radio, then listened to the conversation of his parents. "Kaji came home last week with a black eye and a bloody lip!" his mom was yelling. "And you didn't even notice."

"I wasn't even home!"

"I called you and you didn't even ask how he was feeling when he got home!"

Takeru glared at his wife. "Is it just that you don't want me around, Hikari? Because I'll leave. In fact, I'll leave now."

'No!' Koori gasped silently.

"Why don't you?"

Takeru looked stunned at his wife's angry question. "Fine." All he uttered was that one simple word, then spun around and left.

Hikari collapsed on the ground in tears, and Koori fought his own well. Somehow, in a way that is still unknown to the older boy, Kaji knew exactly what had happened. He, too, was left crying in his cold bedroom.

"Mom," Koori whispered. Just the name, nothing more, as he entered the room from his hiding place.

"How much of that did you hear?" Hikari's head jerked up, her cheeks tear-stained.

"Everything," Koori admitted, not fearing punishment, but divorce. "Why'd you tell him to leave? You don't want him to go, and he doesn't want to go, and Lord knows Kaji and I don't want him to go."

Hikari began to cry again at the son's painful words. "I don't know, Koori. One thing led to another and suddenly he was gone." She looked so helpless suddenly that a lesser man would have taken extreme pity on her.

But Koori was heartless. "You should have stopped him. You're not hurting yourself in this; you're hurting Kaji. He thinks this is all his fault. And if you guys get a divorce, he might do something stupid."

"Do you mean--?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Hikari's breath caught in her throat. "Koori, what am I going to do? I'll lose, just like I almost lost him before."

Koori knew the story she was talking about. Long ago, before his parents were even married, they'd had a few fights in their relationship. By far the worst, though, ended in a break up that lasted for three months before either proud soul would apologize. It also took much conniving from Koori's Uncle Tai and Aunt Sora.

"Mom, if you want Dad to come home, you have to find him and apologize to him."

"Koori," she murmured. After a brief pause, she continued, "How did you get so smart?"

His smile was worth a million dollars to the forlorn mother. "It's not brain surgery, Mom," he remarked gently. He searched his brain for a quote. Upon finding none suitable, he made one up. "One whose soul is too proud will fall, when those whose souls can compromise rise above them all." He smirked at his own wit. "Hey! It rhymes."

Hikari smiled through her tears. "What am I going to do with you, Koori Takaishi?"

Koori smiled to, having heard this threat a hundred times. "Send me to a boarding school in Switzerland?" he suggested, shrugging.

That's when Takeru walked through the door again. "I'm staying in a motel," he threw at her. "I'm just back for some clothes."

"Now's your chance, Mom," Koori reminded her in a voice much quieter than his own. He disappeared, faking towards his room, then doubling back around to his hiding place. Remembering his little brother, he flipped on the two-way radio. "Kaji, it's me. I'm almost done here. I'll stop in your room before I go back to my own."

"Okay, Koori. Is everything going to be okay?"

Koori smiled into the darkness. "I think so, Kaj. I really think so."

The next feeling was indescribable. Koori actually felt his brother smile and sigh with content. "Over and out, Koori."

"Over and out, Kaj." Koori shut his walkie-talking again. He felt a huge responsibility for his younger brother, one that mirrored a parent's. It had been Koori who had watched the little boy and tended to his needs when their parents were fighting, and the unique bond between them formed.

Suddenly Koori's attention was riveted from his thoughts to his parents, but a stunning emotional outburst from his mother. She stood up and threw her arms around Takeru, sobbing into his shirt. "I'm so sorry," she wailed. "I didn't mean that. Honestly."

Takeru's initial surprise faded, and he tightened his grip around her. "I'm sorry, too," he whispered into her hair.

"Let's make a promise," Hikari sniffed. "Let's never let our fighting get so out of control that one of us is forced to leave. Promise?" She held out her pinkie finger to seal the promise, like they had done when they were children.

He linked his finger with hers. "Promise."

Koori sighed in relief when they began to kiss, then softly disappeared from his hiding place. He stopped in Kaji's room, only to see the little blond boy had fallen asleep waiting. Koori shut his walkie-talking, tucked him in, and kissed his forehead goodnight. He couldn't help but giggle as his brother squirmed contentedly.

Koori made his way into his own room, silently praying that this would be the last of the fights. In his heart, he knew there would be others, but none would ever get this bad. He slid under the covers and pulled the blanket over him like a shield. Suddenly his weak, hurried quote flashed through his head. "One whose soul is too proud will fall, when those whose souls can compromise rise above them all." It was a light of inspiration in his normally dark mind. Something about his mom did that to people. Koori smiled into the shadows. Must have been her crest.

THE END

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HW: Cute, guys. That was a pretty original idea.

LiLVarajon: Thanks, HW. To what do we owe the pleasure of you actually liking the idea?

HW: I'm still in the holiday spirit, I suppose. I happen to like a lot of the stories you write. I'm just usually more hesitant about saying it. My praise goes right to your heads.

Sakka: You bet. Can't you see LVJ's head growing by the moment.

LiLVarajon: Thanks, Sakka.

HW: I'll finish it up. Take ten before we start the next fic.

Raissa: Thanks, boss.

HW: Please review. Flames accepted, criticism appreciated, and compliments worshipped. You can flame me all you want, but I'm warning you: I don't take them seriously. They're just there to heat my marshmallows. I'll end with a quote (and not the one in the story): Shoot for the moon. Even if you fall short you'll land among the stars. Bye!!!


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